Thanks to Gov Gregoire, parents can sleep well tonight

Last week, I was in a local toy store shopping for Banana’s second birthday (wahoo, she’s 2!) As I searched through the shelves, I tried to find toys that I could *be sure* didn’t have lead or phthalates or bisphenol or anything like that. But, I had no assurances, and it was a little scary.

However, now we can cheer! Today, Governor Gregoire signed the nation’s toughest toxic controls for our children’s toys. The Washington Toxics Coalition said in today’s Seattle P-I story:

Kids and parents now have peace of mind when they go to the stores in Washington that their toys are safe.

Well, not ’til 2009 when it’s phased in. Although she nixed parts of the bill, the overall integrity of the Act is intact. There will be a public process to figure out the bill’s implementation.

The Governor stood up to serious pressure from lobbyists from toy importers (like the kinds of companies that had millions of toys recalled last year because of toxics) and the American Chemistry Council (which tried to defend phthalates, denying their links to development disruption.) She stood up for us and our kids.